No data exist in the published literature on burnout in physicians from Central Asia. The aim of this analysis was to assess burnout prevalence in doctors and nurses of a cardiological hospital in Almaty, Kazakhstan and ascertain whether smoking, alcohol and physical activity may predict job-associated burnout. The staff of the City Cardiological Centre of Almaty (N = 259, 82% females) filled in the questionnaire with the questions on demographics, lifestyle, including smoking, alcohol and physical activity, as well as fatigue (using Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS)) and burnout using Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel. We compared the scores of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA) between doctors and nurses. We found significant differences in the smoking prevalence, alcohol use and regular physical activity, but no mean scores of burnout between men and women. High DP was prevalent in 52% doctors and 45% nurses, whereas high EE was found in 32 and 26% and PA in 16 and 32%, accordingly. In contrast with EE and DP, PA score was greater in nurses (median 38, interquartile range (IQR) 17) compared to doctors (median 41, IQR 9). Age, sex, work duration, smoking or physical activity could not predict higher burnout, whereas FSS score was associated with higher burnout of all dimensions (p < 0.05), and never-alcohol could predict higher PA burnout (p < 0.05). In Kazakhstan cardiologists, high prevalence of DP burnout should target specific preventive strategies and the association of alcohol use with PA needs further deeper insight.

We aimed to assess exposure to respirable particulate matter (PM) of beauty salon personnel, identify its determinants and ascertain the associated respiratory effects. We collected 122 full-day respirable PM samples from 12 beauty salons (floor area ranging from 24 to 550 m³, staff from 4 to 8) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, taking 10 samples from each place using a portable SidePak AM520 monitor. We also assessed lifestyle (smoking, etc.), respiratory symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQL) of the personnel using questionnaires. Out of 11,831 5-min data points, daily median respirable PM concentrations were highly variable and ranged from 0.013 to 0.666 mg/m³ with 8.5-times difference in the median concentrations between the venue with the highest median (0.29 mg/m³) and the least median (0.034 mg/m³). In a multivariate linear regression modelling, ambient PM_2.5 concentration was the strongest predictor of daily median respirable PM concentration (beta 2.12; 95% CI 1.89; 2.39), and R² of the model was 0.63. We also found a positive association of the median respirable PM with respiratory symptoms and seasonal allergy, but not with HRQL. Short-term respirable PM levels in the beauty salons may be very high, but the median concentrations are mainly determined by the ambient air pollution.

Little is known about the supplements use and recreational sport practices in Kazakhstan university students. Therefore, the aim of this study was to ascertain supplements use prevalence and their predictors in this population. Cross-sectional survey of both undergraduate and graduate level students was completed in 2017 et al.-Farabi Kazakh National University, the largest higher institution in the country, from almost all Schools. A 45-item questionnaire was used to record physical activity, supplements use, lifestyle attributes (smoking, alcohol, sleep, etc.) and eating habits, and adjusted regression models were used to verify predictors of supplements use. Of the entire sample of 889 students (70% females), 526 (59%) were practicing recreational physical activity (RPA), and walking, jogging and track and field was the most popular activity type (38%). N = 151 (29%) students reported the use of any supplement (31% in men and 27% in women), whereas the most popular supplement type were vitamins. Supplement use was most prevalent in swimmers (55%). Age (odds ratio (OR) 1.19 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.37), use of fitness tracker (OR 6.26 (95% CI 3.90–10.03)) and low-fat diet (OR 1.95 (95% CI 1.23–3.10)), but not income predicted supplements use in adjusted models. With more than half of students exercising regularly, only less than one-third use supplements with a very strong association with fitness tracker use.

Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to test the association of poorer spirometry and more respiratory symptoms with being an ex-smoker in a cohort of ever-smokers in a population-based study in Kazakhstan. Methods: We first enrolled 5058 subjects, of whom 1769 were classified as ever-smokers (63% current and 37% former smokers) from the general population in five cities in Kazakhstan and analyzed them hereinafter. They filled in a questionnaire and underwent spirometry with bronchodilation, in which z-scores of post-bronchodilation forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were analyzed. Respiratory symptoms and spirometry were compared between continuing smokers and those who stopped in multivariate logistic regression models. Results: Current smokers smoked a median of 10 (interquartile range (IQR) 7;20) cigarettes a day. In the fully adjusted models, neither lung function (FEV₁, FVC and FEV₁/FVC z-scores and even FEV₁/FVC below the lower limit of normality (LLN)) nor symptoms could predict being an ex-smoker at present. Age (odds ratio (OR) 1.02; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01; 1.03), body mass index (BMI) over 25 kg/m² (OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.10; 1.68), lifetime exposure to vapor, gas, dust and fume (OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.62; 0.97), exposure to SHS (OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.27; 0.42) and electronic cigarette use (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.34;0.99) were significantly associated with being a former smoker vs. a current smoker at the time of examination. Conclusions: Spirometry and early respiratory symptoms did not predict being a former smoker, but co-exposure to secondhand smoke, occupational exposures, and electronic cigarette use sustain continuing smoking.